While the families of the Texas shooting grieve from the mass fatalities that mourned the small town of Sutherland Springs, a new tragedy has struck underfoot.
The United States has had a trying year with many mass shootings, multiple natural disasters, and terrorist attacks.
President Trump, politicians, and citizens have been spending a lot of energy and resources to find a common thread or single policy, which will halt these heinous acts from occurring on American soil again.
As it may be, changing certain policies and legislation will aid in making illegal actions from coming to fruition, it seeks to control the environment rather than change the individual.
Until people are inspired to respect and value the sanctity of life and to love their neighbor as themselves, a society that operates with the interest of all citizens is a far-off dream.
The newest trail of fear was left in the quaint town of Tehama, California as a crazed gunman went on a shooting spree that made crime scenes of multiple locations.
NBC Bay Area News reported:
“A gunman “randomly picking targets” killed four people and injured at least 10 others, including two children, in a shooting rampage Tuesday during which he fired into an elementary school in rural Northern California, sheriff’s officials said.”
The gunman has not been officially named by law enforcement but has been identified by family as 43-year-old Kevin Janson Neal.
Law officials found a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns on the shooter when they searched the stolen vehicle he was using for the rampage, according to Assistant Tehama County Sheriff Phil Johnston.
Gunfire was heard from Chico to Redding city, where Neal attempted to do as much destruction as he could.
The first casualty was a neighbor woman whom Neal was said to have altercations with.
Neal was, actually, out on bond by his mother for previously assaulting the neighbor he later shot and killed, according to NBC News.
To everyone’s horror, Neal drove the stolen vehicle to an elementary school where he opened fire toward the school building and the surrounding area.
NBC News reports on Johnston’s portrayal of the event:
“The shooter targeted the elementary school and shot multiple rounds into the campus, he said. One student was shot there and rushed to a hospital. Another boy was struck by a bullet, while in the backseat of a pickup truck that was being driven by his mother. Johnston said the child is expected to survive, but his mother’s injuries are “very life-threatening.” Eight other people, whose ages and conditions are unknown, are being treated in area hospitals.Johnston said the gunman tried to get into rooms at the elementary school to shoot more kids, but a lockdown saved lives.”
The difference about this mass shooting, compared to recent ones in the past, is that this man had a history of violence, was seen the day before by police, and had been reported to be behaving erratically.
A neighbor, Brian Flint, reported that Neal had “been shooting a lot of bullets lately – hundreds of rounds, large magazines”, according to NBC News.
Monday, the day before the shooting, police responded to a domestic violence call at the Neal residence.
Nothing came of the matter, but police later found out he had killed his wife shortly after they left the home.
Fox News reported:
“The wife of the California gunman..was killed during the seemingly random spree of terror, and police believe her death may have spurred the rest of the slaughter.
Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said Wednesday authorities found the body of Kevin Neal’s wife in the floorboards inside their home.”
Domestic violence is an epidemic across the nation. A policy change that can be looked at to help prevent this kind of demise would be to remove the spouse from the home for evaluation immediately when a call is made.
CNN reported on domestic violence in the United States:
“Each day – Three or more women are murdered by their boyfriends or husbands on average, according to the American Psychology Association.
Each year – Over 10 million women and men are victims of intimate partner violence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Of course, the left want to make this about the inanimate object again, the gun. One of the many problems with their argument is that he lawfully was not supposed to have guns.
Fox News reported:
According to reports, Neal was prohibited from possessing and firing weapons under his bail. Johnston said the two semi-automatic rifles used in Tuesday’s shooting were “manufactured illegally by him at his home.” They were “obtained in an illegal manner; they are not registered,” he added.”
The gun laws that were in place did prohibit Neal from owning a gun, but, as we see in this prime example, a criminal will attain one illegally if they are driven to do harm.
Thankfully, no children were killed in this shooting, but their emotional scars are undoubtedly extensive.
It would be right to note that there were multiple agencies on the scene that worked efficiently and bravely.
The suspect was killed in a cross of gunfire with law enforcement after he was cornered at an intersection.
Please pray for the victim’s families and the wounded. Let’s focus on finding correction for the deranged individuals that are plotting and committing crimes against our citizens, and stop focusing on all the tools one could use wrongfully.
Please let us know in the comments section what policies you think would be the most effective in preventing these types of horrors.